Contract Type: Permanent
Working hours: 37 hours per week
Colchester + Ipswich Museum Service (CIMS) is an innovative local authority museum partnership between Colchester Borough Council and Ipswich Borough Council uniting six significant venues: Colchester Castle, Natural History Museum and Hollytrees Museum in Colchester and in Ipswich, Ipswich Museum, Ipswich Art Gallery and Christchurch Mansion. The museums cumulatively welcome more than 300,000 visitors every year.
We are seeking an experienced manager of a museum service or visitor attraction to operationally manage and develop the museums in Ipswich. It is an exciting time to join us as Ipswich Museum is soon to undergo a major, NLHF funded £9m redevelopment, headed by Ipswich Borough Council.
You will be a key driver of this nationally significant project that will include the redisplay and reinterpretation of the Museum’s rich collections – including archaeology, natural history, world collections, and art. Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, and a key aim of the redevelopment is to increase pride in the Museum in communities across the town. You will also be instrumental to Ipswich Museum’s greater inclusion in Ipswich’s communities. You will lead on the capital project’s £1m activity plan and the delivery of ambitious programmes at Christchurch Mansion which have previously included exhibitions based around Rodin’s The Kiss, the award-winning ‘Power of Stories’ exhibition which displayed costumes from the Marvel blockbuster, ‘Black Panther’ and this year’s ‘Creating Constable’ exhibition. Ipswich Museums hold significant national collections of Suffolk painters John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough, and other local artists.
Colchester and Ipswich Museums is committed to improving equal opportunities and diversity. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, and diverse ethnic heritage candidates who are currently under-represented in our organisation.
Duties of the role
The postholder will manage Ipswich Museum, Ipswich Art Gallery and Christchurch Mansion, leading on day-to-day operations and delivering programmes that meet Ipswich Borough Council’s goals. The Museums Manager will be part of the Colchester + Ipswich Museums senior management team, delivering the objectives of the joint service. The postholder will be a major contributor to the £9m Ipswich Museum capital redevelopment 2022 – 2025.
Qualifications and skills required
To be successful in this role you will be an experienced museum or visitor attraction manager with a track record of broadening and building audiences. You are also likely to have project management experience.
What we offer
The Council encourages all employees to maximise their potential. You will be entitled to join an attractive pension scheme and will receive a generous annual leave entitlement, including two extra company holidays during the Christmas period.
Other benefits include:
For an informal discussion about this vacancy, please contact Frank Hargrave, Colchester + Ipswich Museums Manager via email; frank.hargrave@colchester.gov.uk
For a copy of the job description, please click here.
Interviews will take place on the 14th June 2022 at Chrsitchurch Mansion.
Colchester Borough Council has a wide range of services and facilities that can involve dealing with children or vulnerable adults. We treat our obligations for the safety of children and vulnerable adults seriously and expect our staff to be committed to the principles of our published policies and to adhere to the procedures contained within them.